Nostalgia
by The Face of Madness
Summary: On the way to a sparring match with N, Nate goes a bit off the beaten track and discovers the former King of Team Plasma's room. Just a little something I wrote after playing WAYYY too much Pokemon BW2. Follows the Black 2 continuity.


Note: Itallics indicate flashback.

Nate hustled down the steps leading to the ruins of Team Plasma's castle, his bag and Pokeballs in tow. N had visited the Ferris Wheel in Nimbasa City earlier today, which usually meant that he had finished another journey and that he was prepared for another sparring match. This had gone on for months now, despite the fact that N was technically still a wanted man by the Unova law enforcement.

The fact that he hadn't turned N in yet would have been a source of bewilderment to almost anyone he knew, if he had had the bad sense to let anyone in on the information that he didn't know he could trust. Not only was he the King of the former Team Plasma, but he had also threatened the entire Unova region with Zekrom, and would have succeeded with his plans in all likelihood had that trainer not befriended Reshiram and defeated both him and the true ringleader, Ghetsis. Who but Nate wouldn't have let him face justice by now?

A big factor in the reason N was still at large was an incident that had occurred long ago in the Great Chasm; Nate would not likely be there at this moment had Zekrom with N on his back not blasted a hole in the cavern roof with Fusion Bolt and destroyed the icicles that were set to impale him, if not condemn him to an arguably worse fate. The words that had come out of N's mouth before and after the battle with Black Kyurem and its mad controller's other Pokemon, condemning his father's plans for Unova and recognizing the connection between Pokemon and humans, and outside Victory Road, understanding the true significance of Pokemon battles, seemed far from the dangerous Pokemon seperatist the media painted him as.

Another factor was the fact that he had simply entrusted the power of Zekrom to him after defeating him in a battle. No catches. No strings attatched. Simply put, his journey with the Pokemon of ideals had come to an end, and in Nate he recognized someone else Zekrom could assist better than himself. If his experience with evil men (and he considered Ghetsis to be one of, if not the single, evilest of men) had taught him anything, it was that an evil man would not let go of such power as a Legendary so easily.

But the clincher was one Friday night, visiting the amusement park in Nimbasa. Nate had been simply wandering around the crowded park, taking in the sights and sounds, when someone placed a hand on his shoulder from behind. He wheeled around, seeing the owner of the hand to be dressed in a trenchcoat and large hat in such a way as to conceal his identity; however, the close proximity allowed him to see the green hair that was a dead giveaway to the stranger's identity.

"_This place sure does take me back…admittedly, not all of these memories are exactly fond ones." N said, looking around, smiling. "Excuse me, I entrust you with Zekrom and yet for the life of me I can't seem to recall your name, how amusing…Nate, wasn't it? Would you care to accompany me on the ferris wheel?"_

_Once on the ferris wheel, N seemingly felt a little more relaxed about his identity, taking off his trenchcoat and large hat to reveal his normal attire. "That's better…I find it a bit stifling, going incognito. But, when Unova's finest are engaging in a manhunt for you, what can you do?" He looked out at the park, their cart now a quarter of the way through. "This ferris wheel…it provides so much nostalgia." He paused a minute. "Nate…have I ever told you that you remind me of that trainer, two years ago? Forgive me if I can't name her, some days I remember it Hilda and some days I remember it Touko." He paused a minute more. "Now I think of it, we both rode this ferris wheel, too. In hindsight, that is one of the memories I would prefer not to have…"_

_He stopped as he noticed Nate staring at him, with a bewildered and somewhat distrustful expression. "Ah…so many questions must be running through your head right now. The reason why I decided to reveal myself to you, my intentions for this visit, whether or not this is some sort of trick, et cetera. Unfortunately, I only have enough time to answer a few questions at the moment, if any; the ferris wheel doesn't last forever, you see."_

"_First things first; trust issues. Understandable…sometimes I think about turning myself in for what I've done. You heard what I said at the Great Chasm and when I confronted you on the new Victory Road. I meant it. Zekrom has taught me much about the world…what it's really like. On my journey with him I saw not selfish humans using Pokemon as I had previously believed, but happy relationships between Trainers and their Pokemon. My entire worldview was quickly, thoroughly and inarguably disproven. Seperating humans and Pokemon…only now do I see how foolish an idea that was."_

"_I still haven't given up on my dream, of course. Not the one I had for separate worlds for humans and Pokemon, my first and foremost dream; changing the world for the better. Making it so that Poke Balls are unnecessary. I hope that there will be a day in the future where the relationship between Pokemon and humans is such that Trainers will be obsolete, that both will simply understand and help one another. A world of perfect harmony; that is my dream." N chuckled a little. "But, as I have recently found out, making dreams come true is hard…"_

_N looked outside again and Nate followed his gaze; surprisingly, they were already nearly done with the ferris wheel ride. "Nearly over already?" He began shrugging his disguise back into place. "Not much time, so I'll make this quick; quite simply, you are the strongest Trainer I can think of who wouldn't turn me in on the spot. The fact that I'm still here after I let you into my hideout is evidence enough of that. The fact that I can talk to Pokemon is aid enough in this, but…perhaps you and I could help each other understand our Pokemon better sometime?"_

_Nate blinked. N, the former king of Team Plasma, had just offered to have a Pokemon battle with him at some point. Had something really changed in him?_

_He had no time to ponder this as their cart finally reached the bottom and N rose from his seat, his disguise fully back in place. "I must be going. I hope we will meet again…"_

_And with that, he left._

Several battles taking place over several months later, Nate was thoroughly convinced of N's reformation. He didn't seem to have any troubles with Pokemon battling anymore and spoke of the trainer who had defeated in an admiring way, often professing a wish to thank her (although he seemingly never got around to it).

As he bounded down the last steps into N's castle, Nate looked to his left. A door stood there, unblocked by rubble and debris as so many of the castle was. It was in the opposite direction to the throne room where they often held their sparring matches, so he had not particularly taken notice of it until now.

He stared at the mysterious door for a minute, debating it, before his natural curiosity got the better of him and he started towards it. Maybe it held a shorter path to the throne room, or an item a member of Team Plasma had left behind when the castle was destroyed; N had given him full permission to take items of this nature, as he did not feel right using something associated with his questionable past.

Opening the door, he was greeted by what could only be described as a boy's dream room if some jealous neighbor had wrecked it. A large skateboarding half-pipe sit in the back in front of a dart board and some toppled picture frames, a basketball court with the hoop tipped over onto some large round objects and a model airplane, and assorted building blocks lying on the floor with their container tipped onto one side. Nate took a few steps into the room, looking around and wondering what purpose this room had served.

"This place…was my world."

Nate jumped and wheeled around to see N standing in the doorway. "Did I startle you? I'm sorry, I heard your footsteps echoing through the castle and assumed you could hear me coming as well." He took a few steps forward, walking past Nate.

"What do you mean?" Nate asked, looking curiously around the room.

"Isn't it obvious? This is where I lived." N looked at the various objects with a peculiar mix of affection and revulsion in his expression. "Not in this castle, this room. I was never allowed to leave; I always assumed it was for my safety as an unquestioning child, but now I see that it was so Father's plans would not be jeopardized by an inopportune display of affection by a grunt ruining the worldview he spent so much time and effort ingraining into me." Seeing Nate's bewildered expression, he sighed. "I'm sorry, I should explain."

N began aimlessly pacing around his room. "When I was little, I was abandoned deep in the woods. I don't know by whom and I'm not sure I want to know, but what matters is that the Pokemon in the woods took me in and raised me. So I lived for a while, until one day a man appeared claiming to be my father." He frowned distastefully at the memory. "That man was Ghetsis. He took over my upbringing along with the Seven Sages from that point on, molding me into the black queen in his chess game for Unova. Anthea and Concordia took care of me while the Sages gave me their version of a formal education. Ghetsis…the things he gave me were the name 'Harmonia'…Pokemon with their hearts shut so tightly I couldn't even talk to them…and this room." He remained silent and stopped pacing as he looked around his childhood home while Nate looked on, his hate for Ghetsis intensifying every minute this information sunk in. The insults his Lucario had hurled at Ghetsis during their confrontation, the moniker of monster, of abomination, seemed almost too kind now.

"I'm sorry, I…this room…I'm not even entirely sure how it makes me feel." N said in a shaky voice. "Disgusted? Nostalgic? Horrified? Safe? It's all blurring right now, and I just…I need a moment." N began walking out of the room. "I'll be outside."

Nate stood there, musing over this new insight into N's life. Past events now could be seen in a whole new light; what was going through the poor brainwashed N's head during the incident two years ago? What emotions had he felt during his enlightenment when the world Ghetsis had carefully constructed in his mind came crashing down around him with the revelation that everything he knew was a lie, that Ghetsis had never really cared about him and was, in fact, the same type of person he had been taught everyone else was; someone who only thought of Pokemon as tools? It was a wonder to him that he'd come out of that experience as well as he did.

Another question surfaced: was N truly to blame for his actions?

What would have happened had Ghetsis never found N in the forest as a child? Would he have gone on to do great things? Become the world's first human-Pokemon interpreter? Strengthened the bond between Pokemon and humans? Or would things have gone nearly the same, would he have joined Team Plasma and become its king on his own?

Truth be told, he didn't really know; he had always left the more philosophical questions to Cheren or Professor Juniper. But he did know one thing.

As long as he had a say, his friend was only going to get caught when he wanted to.


End file.
